ATT founder says Yoel Romero may be the best athlete on the team
Lyoto Machida took his UFC Fight Night main event bout against Yoel Romero on short notice, as a replacement, just a couple months after a rough loss to Luke Rockhold. Despite that, the Cuban wrestler's coach Ricardo Liborio says that "The Dragon" will be as dangerous as ever this Saturday.
"Machida has always demonstrated that he's always in shape. He takes a different approach than many other fighters, who just get in shape during training camps. It is a lifestyle for him," Liborio tells FOX Sports, ahead of the Hollywood, Florida, main event.
"Machida is always ready. He eats correctly, is always in shape. And he brings an unorthodox style and always brings something new and surprising. He is not a fighter to take lightly. His loss to Rockhold was not a demonstration of what Machida can do. This is a huge step for Yoel. A win puts him right into title contention."
The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu legend and American Top Team founder tells us that the former Olympic wrestling silver medalist began training with his gym about three years ago, after his loss to Rafael Calvacant in 2011 and before his current five-fight win streak, which began in 2013 with a flying knee KO. Despite Romero's accolades in wrestling, Liborio says Romero was an earnest and humble student from the start.
"Yoel is one of those guys who takes his time to learn. He's a smart fighter and student who wants to learn the techniques," he says.
"We go over techniques, drilling, for hours. It's insane. Many fighters just want to roll, but he will drill for three straight hours sometimes. He really wants to know how everything works, from grips to pressure points."
After Romero demonstrated that type of work ethic and good attitude, it is little wonder why Liborio is so high on him. It is the way the 38 year-old combines the mental and physical that makes him so unique to his coach.
"He is a phenom," the team leader gushes.
"There is something special about him, the way he learns things. He is so smart, and so you rarely see him get seriously hurt. He takes a lot of time to develop his conditioning."
That conditioning allows Romero to use his skills to the fullest, with a pressuring style. At the end of the day, Liborio says, it is that aggressive style that will give the "Soldier of God" his openings and hand him the win over Machida.
"There are so many ways for him to win this fight," he says.
"Pressure is the No. 1 thing, though. Machida is the kind of guy that you can't let him dictate the pace. Every time you see him lose, it is off of being pressured. If you don't pressure him, Machida will rise above. Pressure is something very important, but at the same time Yoel's wrestling is at a different level. He can wrestle, strike well and is very good on the ground. Yoel Romero may be the very best athlete we have at American Top Team."
